Biography - Alan Lunn

History

I’ve always been around cameras. I remember being in my early teens and wrecking the family Olympus Trip camera...

I grew up in the north east of England, surrounded by the beautiful Northumberland countryside. Frequent trips to the majestic Lake District spurred my interest in landscape photography. At university I studied geology and this gave me the chance to see some of the most amazing and geographically diverse scenery in the UK. It was while at Edinburgh University that I realized that I was a very visual person, learning through pictures rather than words.

After leaving university I switched my field of study to that of the body. I became a very highly sought after personal trainer and I also taught sports massage for over 5years. During this time I was still shooting, both for pleasure and for my business.

In 2010 my wife and I left Scotland for San Diego. It was while in San Diego that I met my photographic mentor and friend Ken Williams. I ran my personal training business by day and by night I was an assistant and second shooter for Ken. During my time with Ken I learned about the business of photography as well as the skills of lighting, posing and general photography. Together we shot fashion, editorial, swimsuit, sports and landscapes, in studio and on location. Soon I was earning more money from selling the photos that were hanging in my exercise studio than from the personal training.

My wife was then relocated to Sydney, Australia. While ‘down under’ I turned into a full-time pro, my apprenticeship was over. I shot everything... I shot the landscape, I shot the wildlife, I shot kids and I shot all sort of Australian sports! Being a freelance photographer is a fantastic way to develop and hone your skills, never knowing what you may be shooting. After Australia we lived in Thailand for a short while, different culture, different photographic opportunities. The chance to photograph elephants in their natural environment was truly magical.

The opportunity arose for my wife and I to come back to the USA and we jumped at the chance. We have lived all over the world and there is no doubt that America is greatest nation in the world. Now we reside in Boulder County, Colorado. Being in the middle of this amazing land gives me the opportunity to photograph some of the most spectacular landscapes on the planet.

Passion and Inspiration

I love to shoot, my wife says that I am only truly happy when I am holding a camera.

I love to take unusual, striking, spectacular, remarkable images. I want to take images that are unique, that no one else has or can take. That might mean getting up at 3am to shoot the dawn light after snow-shoeing to a remote landscape, it may mean that I take a 20minute exposure of the Grand Canyon in the dead of night. I have a real passion for long exposure night photography.

But I don’t need a spectacular location to inspire me. I find people fascinating, I learned early on during my massage career that every body is unique, both in their skin and personality. Photographing a personality... that is much more interesting than just smiling at the camera and saying “cheese”. Capturing someone’s personality in a photograph means that I need to get to know you and what drives and inspires my subject. The best photography is about a relationship between the subject and the photographer viewed through the medium of a digital image.

I am a volunteer photographer for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and for the YMCA.

Personal

I am married to the girl that I met at Edinburgh University more than 20 years ago. We have lived all over the world, Europe, Australia and Asia. America is home.

I have been involved in martial arts all of my life, that's how I met my wonderful wife. I continue to train in Iaido on a daily basis and have recently started studying Jo. I hold black belts in numerous Japanese martial arts. I snowshoe, hike, shoot and swim.